Mothers' Misery

Mothers' Misery

Article excerpt

A contraceptive ban imposed in Manila eight years ago has badly affected the city's poor. Some 70 per cent of Filipinos rely on public health facilities and many use family planning clinics to obtain free contraceptives. The ban was pushed through with no public consultation or announcement. The first many women knew of it was when they were turned away from the clinics, reveals Aya Fujimura-Fanselow, legal advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York.

Since then, average family size has increased, placing additional strains on parents already struggling to provide for their children. The HIV infection rate has risen, along with the maternal mortality rate, and more women are suffering complications and death as a result of illegal, unsafe abortions. …